"Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

Monday, September 03, 2012

U.S. Suspends Afghan Local Police Training for Further Vetting

Compiled from U.S. Forces Afghanistan
and International Security Assistance Force News Releases

WASHINGTON – In light of
a recent rise in insider attacks against coalition forces, U.S. Forces
Afghanistan officials have suspended the training of about 1,000 Afghan Local
Police recruits, pending re-vetting of current participants in the program.

Officials emphasized that partnered
operations with Afghan forces will continue, and that NATO training for the
Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police are not affected by the
suspension of training for the local police program, in which U.S. forces train
recruits, in cooperation with Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry and provincial
police chiefs, to provide security in remote communities.

“While we have full trust and confidence
in our Afghan partners, we believe this is a necessary step to validate our
vetting process and ensure the quality indicative of Afghan Local Police,"
Army Col. Thomas Collins, U.S. Forces Afghanistan spokesman, said in a written
statement.

"Special Operations Forces has a
strong and trusted relationship with its Afghan partners that has endured more
than a decade,” Collins added. “Despite the recent rise in insider attacks,
they are relatively rare among [special operations] partnered forces. Special
operations remains fully committed to a close and productive relationship with
our Afghan partners.”

Meanwhile, International Security
Assistance Force officials announced yesterday that Afghan and Australian
troops on a partnered mission in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province had captured a
key facilitator who orchestrated an Aug. 29 insider attack that killed three
Australian soldiers and wounded two others.

The facilitator also was responsible for
the placement of roadside bombs and the kidnapping and murder of Afghan
civilians, officials said, adding that the operation was planned and executed
in coordination with Afghan officials, including approval by the Uruzgan
provincial governor.

Also yesterday, insurgents using
vehicle-borne bombs attacked a base shared by Afghan and coalition forces in
the Sayed Abad district of Afghanistan’s Wardak province.

The attack did not breach the base’s
perimeter, and there were no follow-on enemy actions, officials said. The
explosions caused significant damage to the nearby Sayed Abad district center
and killed an undisclosed number of civilians.

"We believe this attack bears the
mark of the Haqqani network, which continues to target and kill innocent
Afghans and blatantly violates Afghan sovereignty," said Marine Corps Gen.
John R. Allen, ISAF commander. “I offer my sincere condolences to the families
and loved ones of those killed in this horrible attack. I condemn these
atrocities in the strongest of terms."